Clock



May 4, 1937. A. H. NEUREUT'HER CLOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 26, 1931 May 4, 1937- A. H. NEUREUTHER CLOCK Filed June 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m /l N/ m m I 5 w W a fi 1L C0 M k m Patented May 4, 1937 CLOCK Western Clock tion of Illinois Andrew H. Neureuther, Peru, 111.,

Company, Peru, Ill.,'a corporaassignor to Application June 26, 1931, Serial No. 546,976

9 Claims.

My invention relates to clocks and has for its object the production of a clock in which the hands are driven by means of a synchronous motor by the current flow from commercial lighting and power lines as long as said current flow is uninterrupted, said hands having associated. therewith another clock movement that keeps time by any of the usual means such as the balance wheel or mechanical means, said associated movement or mechanical means being operatively connected to control said hands when the flow of the current is interrupted, and said hands being simultaneously operatively disconnected from the control of the synchronous motor during said current interruption. While the current flows in the circuit the associated movement or mechanical means is operatively and positively locked and thus assisting in moving said hands. A further object is the production ofan extremely simple, inexpensive and reliable clock that will keep correct time regardless of the number of current interruptions on the commercial light and power lines.

I accomplish these objects by the means shown in the accompanying drawings in which.

Fig. l is a front view of my clock with a part of the front plate removed.

Fig. 2 is a side view of my clock with the selective magnetic means removed to show the controlling levers.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the means for operatively connecting the usual time movement or means for producing time with the hands of the said clock, view being a partial cross section of the clock hand shaft along a line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a front View of atively connecting the usual the hands of the clock.

Similar parts are represented by the same numerals throughout the several views.

In the drawings i represents the front plate of my clock movement, 2 the rear plate and 3 an auxiliary movement plate. Plates I and 2 are fastened together by means of the pillars 4 and auxiliary plate 3 is fastened to plate I by means of the pillars 5 and the nuts 6. The up per parts of the plates l and 2 have mounted therein the balance wheel I having the impulse pin 9 thereon on balance shaft 8 which is actuated by the usual lever l and the escape wheel H all indicated as shown. Said escape wheel H is rotated by the usual gear train 52 driven by the motor 53. I2 is the usual wheel thatds the means for opertime movement with mounted on the shaft l3 or an extension thereof I4 that carries the minute hand l as will be explained below. See Figures 2 and 3. Said gear I2 is journaled on said shaft l3 but is frictionally connected therewith by means of the collar 16 fastened on said shaft and the spring I! which is held against the washer 18 against the end of the pinion projection shown on gear 12 and the collar l9 fastened on shaft l3, as shown, see Figure 3. On the'left hand end of shaft 13 near the end thereof is fastened a cam or toothed member which rotates in a cup shaped member 2| which further has a centrally disposed aperture in which the left hand end of the shaft I3 is journaled as shown, said cup shaped member 2! being fastened on a shaft 14 whose center registers with the center line of the shaft l3 which shaft I4 is journaled in the front plate I while the right end of the shaft I 3 is journaled in the rear plate 2'. As above mentioned the cam member 20 has a plurality of cuts in its periphery forming teeth 22 whose outer part has a curve that is concentric with the inner cylindrical part of the cup 2| so that said cam member can be journaled and free to rotate in said cup shaped member in either direction were it not for the rollers 23 whose diameters are such that when they are located in the deepest part of the out in said cam surface that they will not quite touch the inner surface of the cup shaped member. It is evident, however, that said rollers 23 will by their own weight drop to the lowest possible point especially when the cuts are located on either side of the shaft l3 and thus lock parts 20 and 2| together when shaft I3 is rotated in the clockwise direction, indicated in the Figure 4, however, if the cup shaped member 2| is rotated in the clockwise direction the rollers 23 will be rotated toward the deep part of the cut in the peripheryof member 20 so that .the cup shaped member can be rotated in said clockwise direction while it cannot be rotated counter clockwise because the rollers 23 will lock it to member 20 because rollers 23 will wedge between the less shallow part of the cut in member 20 and the inner surface of the cup shaped member. It is thus evident that when the center shaft i3 is rotated by the operation of the usual time movement or mechanical means for producing time that the cam member 20 will rotate the cup shaped member 2! and that when the usual time movement is not operated that the cup shaped member can be rotated in the clockwise direction to actuate the clock hands.

Shaft I4 is journaled in the auxiliary plate I and has a gear 24 mounted thereon which engages a pinion 25 mounted on a shaft 26 Journaled in the plates I and 2 which shaft 26 has a gear wheel 21 fastened thereon which engages a pinion II fastened to a gear wheel 29 which is fastened on a shaft 30 journaled in plate 2 and in a bracket Ii fastened in plate i. Journaled on shaft III as a fulcrum is a lever 32 the lower end of said lever having a shouldered shaft 31 projecting therefrom on which is journaled a pinion 34 which engages with the gear wheel 28 and which pinion has fastened thereon the gear wheel 35 as shown. It is evident from this description just above given that the said gear wheel 35 can be moved to the left into the pinion 36 to bring it into operative engagement therewith or to the right to keep it out of operative engagement with the pinion 36 which pinion 36 is fastened on a shaft 31 which is journaled in plates i and 2 and which has a gear wheel 38 (preferably made of some non-metallic material) fastened thereon which gear 38 engages a pinion 39 on the synchronous motor indicated at 40 which synchronous motor is operated from the alternating current from a commercial electric lighting and power line. It is evident that said synchronous motor can be of the self-starting type or of the non-starting type but I prefer to use the selfstarting type of synchronous motor because with the use of the non-starting type of synchronous motor it is necessary to use a second hand or other indicating means to show that the electric (nonstarting synchronous) motor must be manually started, which it is submitted, is not so satisfac tor-y.

upper end of the lever 32 has a resilient member 4i projecting therefrom which when it is in the right hand position shown in the solid lines contacts the balance Wheel 1 and holds it ag 21st rotation in which position the gear wheel 35 in operative engagement with the pinion 36 which is the position in which the mechanism in when the motor 40 is operating the clock lands. Mounted on lever 32 is an armature 42 at'lng projecting parts 43 and 44 which are ad-- scent to the pole pieces of the electromagnet 45 1 and Que or both of the pole pieces of said eiectromagnet 45 may have slots 49 for a shading coil as shown (see Figure 1). It is evident when the current is passing through the coil 46 of the electromagnet 45 that the armature 42 on lever 32 will be attracted over to the pole pieces of the electromagnet and the lever 32 will be in the position (to the right) shown in the solid lines in which position the motion of the balance wheel is stopped by projecting member 4i and the gear wheel 35 is held in engagement with the pinion 36 and the hands are driven by the synchronous motor which will be operated by the current flowing in the circuit when the electromagnet 45 is operative. When the current is interrupted the electromagnet 45 is not operative and the spring 5| will pull the lever 32 to the position shown in the dotted lines which shows the gear wheel 35 out of operative engagement with the pinion 35 and the projection 4i away from the balance wheel 1 so that it is free to be actuated as usual by the usual clock train shown. It will be seen that the position and movement of the projection H is such that it will give the balance wheel a wiping action to positively start it oscillating and thus avoid any failure due to the usual clock movement not starting as rewn on has the coil winding 46 and lead wires 4! v quired. As above described when the current is interrupted and the usual clock movement is in action the time is communicated to the hands by means of the cam member 20, the rollers 28 and the cup shaped member 2|.

It will be understood, of course, that while I have here shown one form of my invention I do not wish to limit myself to the exact form shown but wish to have it taken in a sense illustrative of any or all forms that come fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a clock, a synchronous electric motor actuated by the alternating current from a commercial lighting system, a time indicating means, driving means connecting said motor and said time indicating means, a dlsengageable coupling means forming a part of the aforesaid driving means while said current flows, mechanical timing means, auxiliary coupling means operatively connecting said mechanical timing means to said time indicating means during the period said current is not flowing and means co-acting to stop said mechanical timing means and reengage said dlsengageable coupling means during the period said current is flowing whereby the time indicating means is continuously actuated regardless of the number of the interruptions in the flow of said current.

2. In a clock, the combination of a synchronous motor actuated by the alternating current from a commercial lighting system, mechanical timing means and time indicating means, driving means for connecting said synchronous motor with said time indicating means, a disengageable coupling means forming a part of said driving means, mechanism positioned by the flow of said alternating current for maintaining said disengageable coupling means in its engaging position to form a part of said driving means and to stop said mechanical timing means, means to actuate said mechanism to simultaneously disengage said disengageable coupling means from said driving means and to start said mechanical timing means when said current flow is interrupted and auxiliary coupling means operatively connecting said mechanical timing means and said time indicating means when said mechanical timing means operates, said means comprising a memher having a cup and a part rotatably mounted therein having a plurality of cam surfaces and a plurality of rollers co-acting with said member and said part.

3. In a clock, the combination of a synchronous motor actuated by the alternating current from a commercial lighting system, mechanical timing means and time indicating means, driving means for connecting said synchronous motor with said time indicating means, a disengageable coupling means forming a part of said driving means, mechanism positioned by the flow of said alternating current for maintaining said disengageable coupling means in its engaging position to form a part of said driving means and to stop said mechanical timing means, resilient means to actuate said mechanism to simultaneously disengage said disengageable coupling means from said driving means and to start said mechanical timing means when said current flow is interrupted and auxiliary coupling means operatively connecting said mechanical timing means and said time indicating means when said mechanical timing means operates.

,4. In a clock, the combination of a synchronous motor actuated by the alternating current from able coupling means in its engaging position to form a part of said driving means and to stop said mechanical timing means. means to actuate said mechanism to simultaneously disengage said disengageable coupling means from said driving means and to start said mechanical timing means when said current flow is interrupted and auxiliary coupling means operatively connecting said mechanical timing means and said time indicating means when said mechanical timing means is operated due to the interruption of the flow 01' said current. i

5. In combination, a time indicating means, a synchronous motor driven from the alternating current of a commercial lighting system, a gear train connecting said motor and said time indicating means, a disengageable coupling means in said gear train, a mechanical timing means with a balance wheel forming a part thereof, an auxiliary over-running clutch coupling means connecting said mechanical timing means with said time indicating means, mechanism actuated by said current to retain said disengageable coupling means in said gear train with a member thereon to retain said balance wheel at rest while the current flows and means to actuate said mechanism to disengage said disengageable coupling means from said gear train and said member from said balance wheel when said current is interrupted.

6. In combination, a time indicating means. a synchronous motor driven from the alternating current of a commercial lighting system, a gear train connecting said motor and said time indicating means, a disengageable coupling means in said gear train, a mechanical timingmeans with a balance wheel forming a part thereof, an auxiliary over-running clutch coupling means connecting said mechanical timing means with said time indicating means, a pivotally mounted lever actuated by said current to retain said disengageable coupling means in said gear train, a part thereon to retain said balance wheel at rest while the current flows and means to actuate said lever to disengage said disengageable coupling means from said gear train and said part from said balance wheel simultaneously starting same when said current is interrupted.

7. In a clock, a synchronous motor actuated by the current from a commercial lighting system, a time indicating means, a driving means connecting said motor and time indicating means, a disengageable coupling mechanism associated with said driving means, a mechanical timing means, an auxiliary over-running clutch coupling means connecting said mechanical timing means to said time indicating means to actuate same when said mechanical timing means operates, co-acting means actuated by the flow of said current to retain said disengageable coupling means in operative connection in said driving means and simultaneously stop said mechanical timing means and means for simultaneously disengaging said disengageable means from said driving means and starting said mechanical tim ing means when the flow of said current is interrupted.

8. In a clock, a synchronous motor actuated by the current from a commercial lighting system, a time indicating means, a driving means connecting said motor and time indicating means, a disengageable coupling mechanism associated with said driving means, a. mechanical timing means, an auxiliary over-running clutch coupling means connecting said mechanical timing means to said time indicating means to actuate same when said mechanical timing means operates, means actuated by the flow of said current to retain said disengageable coupling means in uperative connection in said driving means and simultaneously stop said mechanical timing means and coacting means for simultaneously disengaging said disengageable means from said driving means and starting said mechanical timing means when the flow of said current stops.

9. In a clock including a time indicator, an electrical circuit, a. synchronous electric motor in said circuit, connections between the motor and the time indicator, including a gear, for operation-of the time indicator by the motor, means for disconnecting the motor from the time indicator upon cessation of the current, said means comprising a member magnetically influenced by the current, said means mounting said gear for movement to and from driving relation in the connections between the motor and the time indicator, said member arranged and constructed to hold the gear in driving relation when the current is on and to permit the gear to move out of driving relation when the current is oil? and a second motor arranged and adapted to continue the operation of the time indicator when the current is 01!.

ANDREW H. NEUREUTHER. 

